Taming the Elephant: A Practical Guide to Your Scope 3 Emissions

It’s time to get juicy in our series on Net Zero and get stuck into the biggest area of our emissions. We’ve already focused on 'getting our own house in order' through developing practical strategies to reduce the Scope 1 and 2 emissions generated directly from our own operations and purchased energy. This is a fundamental and necessary step for any credible climate journey.

Now, we must confront the carbon sized elephant in the room: Scope 3.

For most drinks businesses, Scope 3 emissions – all the indirect emissions that occur in your value chain, both upstream and downstream – represent the overwhelming majority of their carbon footprint, often accounting for 80-90% or more of the total. Any Net Zero commitment that doesn't comprehensively address Scope 3 is, frankly, missing the point. While it is the most complex area to tackle, it is also where the greatest impact can be made.

Why is Scope 3 So Big for the Drinks Industry?

The reason is simple: our business model is fundamentally reliant on a vast value chain. We buy agricultural ingredients, we buy packaging, we use third-party logistics to move things around, and our products are consumed and disposed of far from our own facilities. The carbon footprint of all these activities belongs to our Scope 3 emissions.

Breaking down this challenge requires focusing on the biggest hotspots. For a typical drinks business, these are agriculture and packaging.

1. Hotspot: Agriculture (Purchased Goods & Services)

The journey of any drink starts in a field, orchard, vineyard etc, and so do a large portion of its emissions. This includes:

• Emissions from producing and using fertilisers and pesticides

• Carbon released from soil through tilling and land management practices.

• Fuel used by farm machinery and transportation.

Strategies:

• Supplier Engagement: This is the cornerstone of any Scope 3 strategy. Work collaboratively with your farmers and growers.

• Promote Regenerative & Low-Carbon Farming: Encourage and incentivise practices that build soil health (which sequesters carbon), reduce reliance on synthetic fertilisers, and optimise fuel use.

• Data Collection: Work with suppliers to gather data on their farming practices to better estimate emissions and track improvements. While challenging, this is becoming increasingly important.

2. Hotspot: Packaging (Purchased Goods & Services)

The energy-intensive process of manufacturing virgin packaging, especially glass and aluminium, carries a huge carbon footprint. Strategies:

• Embrace Circularity: Decarbonisation and circular economy principles are intrinsically linked.

  • Increase Recycled Content: Using recycled glass (cullet) and recycled aluminium significantly reduces the manufacturing energy and emissions compared to using virgin materials. Set ambitious targets for recycled content in your packaging.

  • Lightweighting: Reducing the weight of your bottles and cans directly reduces the material and energy needed for their production and transport.

  • Promote Reuse & Refill: As we explored in our previous series, reuse models are a powerful decarbonisation tool as they dramatically reduce the number of single-use packaging items that need to be manufactured.

3. Hotspot: Transportation & Distribution

The emissions from third-party vehicles moving your raw materials to you, and your finished product out to customers, all fall under Scope 3. Strategies:

• Optimise Logistics: Work with logistics partners to improve route efficiency and maximise load capacity to reduce "empty miles."

• Mode Shifting: Where possible, shift freight from road to lower-carbon modes like rail or sea.

• Partner with Sustainable Hauliers: Engage with logistics providers who are actively investing in low-carbon fleets (e.g., electric vehicles, biofuel trucks).

4. Hotspot: End-of-Life Treatment

This category covers the emissions from the disposal or recycling of your packaging after consumer use. Strategies:

• Design for Recyclability: As discussed in our circularity series, designing packaging that is easily and effectively recycled ensures it can re-enter the economy, displacing the need for virgin materials.

• Support Collection Schemes: Actively support and participate in schemes like Deposit Return Schemes (DRS), which are designed to achieve high collection and recycling rates.

The Core Challenge: Data and Influence

Tackling Scope 3 is different from Scopes 1 and 2. You don't have direct control over these emissions; you can only influence your partners and suppliers. This requires a new set of skills:

• Data Collection: The biggest hurdle is often getting reliable emissions data from your suppliers. Start by engaging with your key suppliers to understand their footprint and decarbonisation plans.

• Procurement Power: Your most powerful tool is your purchasing decision. Make sustainability performance a key criterion when selecting suppliers for ingredients, packaging, and logistics.

Conclusion: Embracing Your Full Responsibility

Addressing Scope 3 emissions is a complex, long-term challenge, but it is the true measure of a company's commitment to climate action. By focusing on key hotspots like agriculture and packaging, and by working collaboratively with suppliers, real progress can be made. It's about taking responsibility for your entire value chain.

Now that we have explored reduction strategies across all three scopes, what do we do with the small amount of emissions that are truly unavoidable? In our final article, we will address the last piece of the Net Zero puzzle: the role of credible carbon removals, insetting vs. offsetting, and how to communicate your journey authentically.